Less Crime, More Time

The total population of citizens incarcerated, paroled, or on
probation in the United States reached a new high in 2003,
according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 3
percent of U.S. adults were part of the correctional population
sometime during 2003, despite a decade of decreases in violent
crime, property crime, and gun-related crime.

Floating Nuns

Five Ursuline sisters, wearing 19th-century-style habits,
made a five-day float trip down the Ohio River from Louisville to
Owensboro, Kentucky, in mid-August to re-enact the 1874 journey
of their founders. Amelia Stenger, OSU, contacted organizers of
the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Expedition for help in locating
a flatboat, according to The (Louisville) Courier-Journal.

Accounting for the Poor

One year after the World Bank promised that
revenues from the Chad-to-Cameroon oil pipeline would be directed
toward local economies, education, and health care, African
church leaders say they have not seen results. The Presbyterian
Church of Cameroon is calling for pressure from the international

News Bites

Food Fight. Approximately 1,600 Palestinians in Israeli
prisons went on a hunger strike in mid-August, demanding
fair and humane treatment. Within days, they were joined
by other prisoners, bringing the number of protesters to
2,264, according to the BBC.

Fair Speech. Brazilians are turning off their televisions
for 30 minutes on Oct. 17 as part of a campaign against

News Bites

Kiwi Ban. New Zealands National Party
gave up an attempt to rescind that countrys anti-nuclear
law, indicating that they did not want to fight a popular law in
an election year. The law prevents all nuclear-powered ships from
entering New Zealand waters.

Fighting the Power

Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. With 1.4
million workers (all non-union), its also the largest
employer in the United States. "Wal-Marts workers earn
an average of $18,000 a year," reports the Labor Research
Association. "Until Wal-Mart emerged as the largest U.S.
company three years ago, General Motors held that spot. A General
Motors assembler earns three times more than a Wal-Mart
worker."